The American Psychological Association discussed the trend of media bombarding or children with inappropriate and harmful images, at their Annual Convention. Tomi-Ann Roberts, PhD, a member of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls defines sexualization as a process that encourages girls and young women in an imposed way to be valued by themselves, and others, only for their sexual appeal, above any other characteristic. Ultimately, the emphasis on an unattainable body image damages the health and self-image of girls and young women, and can lead to eating disorders, anxiety and depression.

The stereotyping of girls is at the heart of this problem. From the beginning, girls are coached by advertisers and the media to be sweet, feminine and nurturing, and—as they get slightly older—sexy, said Sharon Lamb, EdD, co-author of “Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers’ Schemes” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006) Lamb emphasized that psychologists can help combat these messages by teaching parents and their children to understand media manipulation. Parents have the power to teach kids values that they—not advertising or the culture—define, said Lamb. They can show their children how to examine why they like the things they like, and to realize when they’re being duped. And everyone needs to learn to ask questions such as: “Why must female volleyball players always wear bikinis?” and “Why would a 6-year-old need a push-up bra?” said Lamb.

According to Brian Wilcox, PhD, selling sex is not the only problem. Marketers are also selling unhealthy eating habits and behaviors. In the past few decades, children have become increasingly targeted by marketers, such that an estimated $15 billion was spent by various companies pitching fast food, sugary cereals and junk food to kids, said Wilcox, with much of the advertising appearing on cable channels aimed at children, such as Nickelodeon.

All that advertising has an effect, both on families’ purchasing patterns and children’s health, with studies showing that children’s product preferences drive almost $500 million in annual household purchases. Meanwhile, 16 percent of U.S. children are obese, and government surveys show that the percentage of children classified as overweight rose from 5 percent to almost 14 percent from 1976 to 2000, Wilcox said.

Link to article US children.html